For the past 4-5 years, I have been periodically getting small (usually dime sized) painful lumps on my inner thighs. It's generally one at a time, and depending on the time of year, I might not get another one for months. I find that they occur more frequently in the summer (when my inner thighs tend to get chaffed), when I'm in the a lot gym, or after I've shaved. They actually look and seem to act just like a pimple.

In the beginning, I would try and pop them because I could feel a hard lump underneath my skin. This was immensely painful, but if I could withstand the pain and squeeze hard enough, the lump would release what looked like a small amount of blood and puss (gross and wrong, I know). Afterwords, the lump would immediately become painless, and the swelling would go down in less than a day. If I don't pop them, they come to a head and release pus only. Over the past few years, I've been in the doctor for checkups and have had general blood work done, I've also been tested for STD's. With the exception of finding that I had once had mono, everything has always come back normal. I thought that perhaps these were boils because the description is nearly identical, but these lumps are so small in comparison to the pictures I'm seeing on the internet. Other than being pretty tender to the touch and being somewhat unsightly, I have no other issues. The more I read on the internet, the more I become terrified that I have some sort of crazy skin problem or staph infection.

I'm currently a student with no insurance and my funds are extraordinarily limited, so I am at a loss as to how seriously I should be taking this condition. I've been living with this with no real problem for the past 4-5 years, but now I'm concerned that I should take this more seriously. Any ideas as to what this may be? Do I need to seek any kind of immediate attention?

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2 Replies |Watch This Discussion | Report This| Share this:Inner Thigh Lumps - Ouch!For the past 4-5 years, I have been periodically getting small (usually dime sized) painful lumps on my inner thighs. It's generally one at a time, and depending on the time of year, I might not get another one for months. I find that they occur more frequently in the summer (when my inner thighs tend to get chaffed), when I'm in the a lot gym, or after I've shaved. They actually look and seem to act just like a pimple.

In the beginning, I would try and pop them because I could feel a hard lump underneath my skin. This was immensely painful, but if I could withstand the pain and squeeze hard enough, the lump would release what looked like a small amount of blood and puss (gross and wrong, I know). Afterwords, the lump would immediately become painless, and the swelling would go down in less than a day. If I don't pop them, they come to a head and release pus only. Over the past few years, I've been in the doctor for checkups and have had general blood work done, I've also been tested for STD's. With the exception of finding that I had once had mono, everything has always come back normal. I thought that perhaps these were boils because the description is nearly identical, but these lumps are so small in comparison to the pictures I'm seeing on the internet. Other than being pretty tender to the touch and being somewhat unsightly, I have no other issues. The more I read on the internet, the more I become terrified that I have some sort of crazy skin problem or staph infection.

I'm currently a student with no insurance and my funds are extraordinarily limited, so I am at a loss as to how seriously I should be taking this condition. I've been living with this with no real problem for the past 4-5 years, but now I'm concerned that I should take this more seriously. Any ideas as to what this may be? Do I need to seek any kind of immediate attention?

Please realize that it's not possible for anyone to be diagnosed over the internet. What you may want to do is use the Symptom Checker tool and also use the WebMD search engine with Boils to see if those articles are helpful to you. Boils are caused by the staph bacteria.

Also consider chafing if your inner thighs rub together. With hot weather it may be harder to keep your skin dry if you are wearing jeans and sweating a lot so try bathing with tepid water and use a cornstarch powder to absorb any extra moisture.

Please realize that it's not possible for anyone to be diagnosed over the internet. What you may want to do is use the Symptom Checker tool and also use the WebMD search engine with Boils to see if those articles are helpful to you. Boils are caused by the staph bacteria.

Also consider chafing if your inner thighs rub together. With hot weather it may be harder to keep your skin dry if you are wearing jeans and sweating a lot so try bathing with tepid water and use a cornstarch powder to absorb any extra moisture.

Do seek help from a doctor if necessary.

- Annie

Sparky23456 responded:

Dear sav123: It sounds like it may be a 'simple' case of folliculitis, which is a clogged hair follicle. I would suggest that when you squeeze it to relieve the pain and pressure, you might apply a triple antibiotic ointment to guard against infection (you can also get the 'antibiotic plus' which contains a topical pain reliever). Try Googling 'folliculitis' and compare your symptoms. You might find a site with photos to compare, as well. Hope this helps. May God bless.

Thanks for your Reply!

Report This| Share this:Inner Thigh Lumps - Ouch!Dear sav123: It sounds like it may be a 'simple' case of folliculitis, which is a clogged hair follicle. I would suggest that when you squeeze it to relieve the pain and pressure, you might apply a triple antibiotic ointment to guard against infection (you can also get the 'antibiotic plus' which contains a topical pain reliever). Try Googling 'folliculitis' and compare your symptoms. You might find a site with photos to compare, as well. Hope this helps. May God bless.

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